


Cell Block Tango

by leSerpentia



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: 2 apprentices, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angry make out, Damn it Julian, Dumbass turned himself in, F/M, I will protect him from himself, Jail talk, Julian Maso-switch, Julian has a martyr complex, One apprentice on Asra Route, One apprentice on Julian Route, Post Book X, Post Break-up, Prison, Spoilers for Book X, Swearing, Very light masochism, Why did you turn yourself in, my apprentice curses like a sailor, past relationship, prison makeout, unedited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-18
Updated: 2018-05-18
Packaged: 2019-05-08 12:58:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14694698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leSerpentia/pseuds/leSerpentia
Summary: "So this is your fucking brilliant plan? How the fuck is turning yourself in going to solve this! Damn you and your god-forsaken martyr-complex""Now Terra-dear, I’ll start to think you care"Julian has gone and turned himself in; and Terra is not having any of his woe-is-me-shit.With all their history, tempers aren't the only thing heating up.





	Cell Block Tango

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!
> 
> Background:  
> In my Arcana world, I have squashed both my own and my friend's game into one 'verse.  
> They are playing Asra's route, whilst I am playing Julian's.  
> So to erase confusion...  
> Regn: Friend's apprentice, Water mage. Completely adorable. Asra's apprentice  
> Terra: My apprentice, Fire mage. Sarcastic and witty. Magical Blacksmith and Regn's BFF
> 
> This is terrible and trash but I haven't written in a while so I'm not even sorry

‘So this is your fucking brilliant plan?’

Julian’s winced as her remark echoed off the stone, but he didn’t lift his head from where it leaned back against the dungeon wall.

‘Don’t you start too, my dear. I already got the lecture from Pasha.’

‘And why not! How the fuck is turning yourself in going to solve this! Damn you and your god-forsaken martyr-complex.’

That pulled a wry smile from the shackled doctor. He blinked his eye open to look at the woman leaning against far wall of the prison block, her glare still visible through the bars and dim light.

‘Now Terra-dear, I’ll start to think you care.’ Julian chuckled.

Flames flashed in their sconces at Terra’s glare. She was as breath-taking as he remembered. Which is to say, it took your breath away when you took your second look; saw past the colour and the snark until _BANG…_ she’s all he think about.

Terra was all angles and curves, skin turned the colour of waxed pine by the firelight. Her normally vibrant green hair looked almost forest dark as it hung in her eyes, her tattooed arms crossed with one leg bent to rest against the wall. Her fingers were twitching, and the leather strips she usually had wrapped around her palms were missing. She was more pissed than he realised, if she had managed to burn through the tough fabric.

‘Of course I care you melodramatic twit! Pasha’s distraught, Rëgn won’t leave her study and I can’t even bloody _find_ Asra! What the fuck were you thinking?’ She yelled as she stormed toward Julian’s cell.

The mention of his sister had Julian’s stomach curling up in knots. Portia had snuck down into the dungeons early this morning, under the guise of delivering the prisoner food. She hadn’t stayed long, but the siblings had clung to each other’s hands through the bars. He’d tried to explain that this was for the best. Now Portia would never having to worry someone would tie her to her fugitive brother. Hell, maybe with all this behind her, Nadia might finally work up the nerve to ask Portia out. That had startled a blush and a laugh from his sister, but he could tell she didn’t believe him.

And it seemed the mage before him didn’t either.

  ‘You know you aren’t responsible for this,’ Terra continued, on a roll as she paced in front of his cell. ‘You know you didn’t kill the Count. So why the fuck did you turn yourself in? Is it just for the show, do you crave drama and attention so much you’d hang for another person’s crime!’

‘I don’t want attention –’ Julian began indignantly.

‘Yes you bloody well do! You live for this kind of shit, and now you want to fucking die for it!’ Terra interrupted, jabbing a finger at him through the bars. ‘You don’t bloody care who you hurt, as long as there is a fucking audience! I bet you’ll love seeing Pasha’s heart break when they string you up!’

Julian hand whipped out before he could stop it, catching Terra’s wrist as she retracted her arm. The manacles on his wrists clanged and rattled as he pulled himself up to glower down at Terra. The skin in his hand was several degrees hotter than it should have been, and he could feel her pulse jump at the contact.

‘Pasha won’t be there. She swore to me.’ Julian’s voice was more snarl that speech. ‘Don’t throw my sister in my face, she’ll finally be safe once…’ he trailed off, letting his forehead press against the bars, the curls of his fringe falling over his good eye.

‘Once you’re gone?’ Terra finished. Julian was sure he could hear the spite dripping off the words.

‘Do you have to make this harder?’ he sighed, eyes closed. ‘I may not have killed the Count but, I’ve done my fair share of horrid things. You don’t know-‘

‘So tell me!’

‘Just – let me do this Terra. Pasha will be free from my shadow, Asra and Rëgn can finally go back to their studies, even Nadia can move on. You’ll finally have me out of your hair. I can finally _do something_ for you all just – let me do this for you all.’

Terra’s arm was becoming too hot to hold, but Julian relished the pain, giving her wrist a small squeeze. Her pulse still thundered against his fingers and he felt, rather than saw her take a shaky breath.

‘…We don’t want that.’ Her voice was a choked whisper and Julian’s eye snapped open, focusing on Terra’s face.

She was crying.

Terra; sarcastic, vicious, unstoppable Terra was crying. Tears rolled down her cheeks like glass marbles, clinking down off her chin to hit her clavicle and disappear in a puff of steam.  The watery trail tried to evaporate, but more tears kept spilling from her eyes and following the tracks down.

‘What about what we want?’ her lips shook as she continued; ‘we want you around Ilya. We want you beside us. We need you! _I…’_ she stopped and tried to turn away, but Julian wouldn’t let her go. Some of the fire was back in her face when she turned back to try and twist herself free.

The clang of his chains rattling seemed far too loud to Julian’s ears. He let his arm be pulled through the bars as Terra tried to back away from his cell. But he couldn’t let her go. This couldn’t be the last thing he saw on her face.

_I made her cry._

Terra tried to rip his fingers off with her other hand, grumbling ‘Let me go you masochistic bastard.’

Despite himself, Julian smiled. ‘No.’

_I made Terra cry._

She met Julian’s gaze then, and whatever she saw there had the fire turn to sparks. “Oh no you don’t!’

She kept trying to tug away as Julian slowly pulled her toward him. He knew she could get loose if she wanted, she could torch his whole arm is she chose, but she simply scrabbled to pull away and snarled at him, tear stains still on her face.

‘No way you smarmy, egotistical megalomaniac. You drama-obsessed, ridiculous bastard, you complete and total—‘

He stopped her triage of insults the best way he knew how, with his lips. With the bars of his cell pressed between them, Julian wrapped his other arm around her waist and kissed her like… well like it was his last day on earth.

It took barely a second for her anger to drain away, for her fiery sparks to turn to melting wax. Her fingers dove into his hair when he released her wrist to cup her tear-soaked cheek. He wasn’t surprised to feel it dry against his palm as he ran his tongue along her lips, groaning at the mewl that escaped her.

They fell back into old habits; Julian gripped the base of her neck just how she liked, Terra raked hot fingernails along his scalp the way she knew drove him mad. Their kiss turned desperate, with Terra biting down Julian’s bottom lip hard enough to bleed. A punishment and a plea.

He couldn’t pull her close enough. The bars, the manacles, everything was in the way. Terra broke away from his lips for just a second , and Julian bit back his groan as he watch her slam her palm around the bars just above their heads. The moment her hand touched the metal, it glowed red hot.

With a grin, Julian brushed a thumb against dry cheek, and Terra twisted her face to press a searing kiss to his palm.

‘I still want to punch you.’ She snarked

‘Promises, Promises.’ He returned.

Just before their lips met again, a loud crash echoed above them and Julian all but shoved Terra over to push her safely away. She only stumbled a step back and looked toward the sound of the noise. Heavy boots crunched on stone and the struggle of an unco-operative prisoner could be heard from the stairwell, and Terra turned back to him with a determined look on her face.

She stepped back toward him, so her nose barely brushed his as she met his grey eye.

‘I’m going to get you out of here Doc.’

‘Terra –’

She grinned, and it made Julian’s words die in his throat.

_I made her smile._

‘Try not to die before I can save you.’

And then she was gone, running away from the incoming people to some secret passage. Julian peered after her long after she had vanished; after the guards had thrown a new prisoner into a cell further down the corridor and left. When he could move again, Julian backed up slowly until his shoulders hit the wall. He slid down to the floor of his cell, letting his head fall back to the position it had been in when Terra had first spoken.

With his neck at this angle, he could see the slight warp of his bars where Terra’s firebrand fingers had gripped them. His scalp still pricked from her nails, and his lips were warm when he touched them, bite already healing. The corners of his mouth quirked up of their own accord, and he smirked into the darkening room.

_I made Terra smile._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so so much for reading  
> You are the best.
> 
> If you like, or you see places I fucked up, let me know ^_^  
> MUCH LOVE TO YOU ALL (except you Julian, I'm still mad at you!)


End file.
